Committee also discusses introducing a new ordinance that would require businesses working with the city to disclose any involvement in slavery
The first Reparations Committee of the year honored three community members in recognition of Black History Month.
Elisa Walker, Vanessa Johnson-McCoy and Tina Paden were awarded the Alderman Dolores A. Holmes Social Justice Award for embodying “the spirit of Alderman Dolores A. Holmes’ lifelong work championing marginalized voices, fostering meaningful dialogue and driving impactful initiatives that promote justice and fairness,” according to committee chair Robin Rue Simmons.
Honoring community contributions
Walker is a graduating senior at Hampton University, and was recognized for her passion and advocacy for reparations legislation in Evanston and internationally. She is a communications manager and board member at FirstRepair, the reparations advocacy nonprofit founded by Rue Simmons.
“She believes in empowering and uplifting the voices of young people, advocating for their rights and creating their own opportunities,” Rue Simmons said of Walker.
Walker was unable to join in person, but thanked Rue Simmons for the award.
“I’m so grateful to be from Evanston and to have been able to grow up in this work and to represent Evanston all over the world. I always take the time to let people know what my hometown is doing, and I’m just so proud of them, and I just want to see the best for my town and for the Black communities all over the world,” Walker said.
Johnson-McCoy’s leadership goes back to elementary school student councils, to corporate positions and in her current role as a real estate broker and community advocate.
“She’s known to be positive, honest, resourceful and detailed, and she strives to daily reflect her motto, to have a victorious, joyous, marvelous attitude, and encourage others to do the same,” Rue Simmons said.
Johnson-McCoy has been involved in local reparations since she heard about it.
Tina Paden was honored for her work as a community advocate and “her family’s three-generation contributions to the Evanston community, including her advocacy for affordable housing and Black lives.”
Paden has missed only two reparations meetings since its creation in 2019.
“It’s important that we continue this work, and I’m going to keep continuing to come and make sure that everybody that didn’t get a fair chance in the past will get a fair chance now,” she said.
Financial reports and disbursement updates
Assistant to the City Manager Tasheik Kerr announced that $173,028 has been transferred from the Real Estate Transfer Tax to the Reparations Fund as of February 1, 2025. No donations have been received since Nov. 1.
The Reparations Committee also met with one more direct descendant bringing the total to 74 out of 80.
Michael Dykes, a liaison for the committee between contractors and recipients shared that two more home projects for ancestors have been completed. He had projected that all 19 would be done by the end of 2024, but only 16 were finished. Dykes estimates that the next three will be finished in the next couple of weeks.
One project that was heartwarming to work on for Dykes was a remodeling of the second floor of a home that will become an affordable housing unit in the Fifth Ward.
“The second floor was just being used as storage,” he said. “So our goal with him was to, number one, help him stay in his home, get his home back up to par and increase his equitable value in the home.”
The new two-bedroom unit will be walking distance to the new Foster School. The ancestor will be able to keep his home while earning income.
Along with Black History Month, National Reparations Awareness Day, established by the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N’COBRA), is observed Feb. 25. Mayor Daniel Biss will issue a proclamation at the City Council meeting Feb. 24.
Possible slavery disclosure ordinance
Rue Simmons discussed introducing a new ordinance where businesses working with the city would have to disclose whether they profited from slavery or had involvement in the slave trade.
Chicago passed a version of the disclosure in the early 2000s. State Rep. for Chicago’s 6th District Sonya Harper will introduce a statewide version Saturday at the Illinois African Descent-Citizens Reparations Commission Public Hearing.
“This is a form of policy that’s been introduced for the last couple of decades, really, in other communities, that could be another source of funding our reparations fund here, and could also make sure that we are in procurement relationships with businesses and corporations that are responsible,” Rue Simmons said.
